Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) Shares Acquired by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Key Points

• Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in Bank of America Corporation by 4.7%, owning 127,892 shares valued at approximately $5.34 million as of the last reporting period.
• Bank of America has announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.26 to $0.28 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.4% and a payout ratio of 30.41%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Bank of America, with a total of 17 buy ratings, 5 hold ratings, and one sell rating, leading to an average price target of $50.13.

Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 127,892 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,798 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $5,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gradient Investments LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 696,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,061,000 after buying an additional 50,296 shares during the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas raised its position in Bank of America by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 158,455 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $69,640,000 after buying an additional 17,880 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Bank of America during the 1st quarter worth $998,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 37.2% during the 1st quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 65,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,714,000 after buying an additional 17,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 170.5% during the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 238,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,951,000 after buying an additional 150,299 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BAC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Phillip Securities cut shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.13.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE:BAC traded down $1.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $45.65. 52,302,841 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 39,411,248. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $46.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.81. Bank of America Corporation has a 1 year low of $33.06 and a 1 year high of $49.31. The company has a market cap of $343.83 billion, a PE ratio of 13.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.31.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is 30.41%.

Bank of America Profile

Bank of America Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides banking and financial products and services for individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, institutional investors, large corporations, and governments worldwide. It operates in four segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth & Investment Management (GWIM), Global Banking, and Global Markets.